When it comes to controversy, the novel, Shark Fin Soup, falls into the debate arena. The thriller will be released August, 2014, but the vast difference of opinion about this novel can already be seen on Goodreads with a 5-star and a 1-star rating. This was expected, but readers are left to ponder if this is a unique, powerful story with a timely subject or believe the 1-star reviewer that the book was “upsetting.”

True, Shark Fin Soup is not for everyone, nor is it a typical thriller with the usual plot and a good guy verses the bad. The protagonist, Christian Roberts, starts as an average Florida sailor, but when tragedy strikes and shatters his life, he becomes a one-man crusader for sharks. There are no 50 shades of grey for this Christian, but straight black and white; damn humanity, morals, and the law. And so, the controversy; how far does one go to stop a wildlife catastrophe and save a species from extinction, a species that balances the ocean environment, but is being wiped out for a Chinese soup?

Here is the first media review, “Blond and good looking, Christian Roberts takes on the killing of sharks for shark fin soup, a practice that threatens the balance of nature. Fin traders would kill him. Agents of the law would imprison him. Women love him. Ecology-minded folks applaud him. Readers have a new super hero. Susan Klaus is one of the most creative story tellers to surface since Ian Fleming, David Baldacci, and Michael Crichton.”

The reviewer obviously loved the book, but you be the judge. The plot, protagonist, and his methods are controversial, and readers will either fall in love with this book or hate it, cheer Christian on or scorn him, the same applies to sharks that are either appreciated or feared and despised. But the bottom line, 5-star ratings and great reviews are not the issue. The hope of Shark Fin Soup is to open some eyes and help end indifference to shark finning, a worldwide tragedy that is now playing out on the seas.